Rep. King: Misconduct Involved 'Significant' Number of Agents

CARTAGENA, Colombia — A U.S. lawmaker says a "significant number" of Secret Service agents involved in an alleged prostitution scandal at an international summit brought women back to their hotel rooms before President Barack Obama arrived in Colombia.

A Cartagena prostitute refused to leave the hotel room occupied by the U.S. Secret Service until she was paid, said U.S. Representative Peter King, who heads the House Homeland Security Committee.

Eleven U.S. Secret Service agents, working in advance of President Barack Obama’s arrival for a summit this weekend in Cartagena, Colombia, were returned to the U.S. and placed on administrative leave April 12 because of allegations of misconduct involving contact with prostitutes, according to a statement yesterday from Secret Service spokesman Paul S. Morrissey.

Visitors of guests at the Hotel Caribe, near the site of the Summit of the Americas, were required to leave identification at the front desk and had to be out by 7 a.m., according to King, who said he was briefed on the incident twice yesterday.

Two or three of the 11 were uniformed officers and two were Secret Service supervisors, and all had previously untarnished records, said King.

“They were questioned all day yesterday at Secret Service headquarters,” King said today in an interview. All 11 were believed to have brought women to their Cartagena, Colombia, hotel rooms, said King, whose staff “is going to begin an investigation” to examine procedures in place at the time and how they might be changed to prevent a recurrence.

The agents involved weren’t assigned to Obama’s protective detail, according to Morrissey. After they were withdrawn from the country, their duties were “backfilled” by replacements brought in from Florida and Puerto Rico, King said.

No Security Impact

“These actions have had no impact on the Secret Service’s ability to execute a comprehensive security plan for the President’s visit to Cartagena,” Morrissey said. “This matter was turned over to our Office of Professional Responsibility, which serves as the agency’s internal affairs component.”

The story of the agents’ alleged misbehavior became public just as leaders of the Western Hemisphere were beginning talks on trade, drug legalization in South America and creating greater transparency among South American governments.

Obama was told about the allegations April 13 and the issue “has been more of a distraction for the press” than for the president at the summit, spokesman Jay Carney told reporters at a briefing yesterday.

Morrissey said, “We regret any distraction from the Summit of the Americas this situation has caused.”

Congressional Interest

Representative Darrell Issa of California, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, suggested there may be more than 11 officials involved, saying on CBS’s “Face the Nation” today that there may be “20 or more” and that “we’re asking for the exact amount of all the people.”

“I don’t want to presume anything,” King said. “I wouldn’t want this used to indict the entire Secret Service.”

In addition, five members of the U.S. military who were staying at the same hotel violated a curfew set by the senior U.S. defense official at the U.S. embassy in Colombia, according to Colonel Scott Malcom, the public affairs officer for the U.S. Southern Command.

The five had been sent to Colombia to support the summit, in part by providing security, Malcom said. They will remain in Colombia during the summit because their skills and knowledge are needed, Malcom said, adding that they will be restricted to their hotel rooms when not carrying out official duties.

The military has yet to determine whether the five violated any rules beyond the curfew, Malcom said. He didn’t provide their ranks or military branch.